Sunday Open Thread: July 8 is fer Decatur

nd it is also Prickle-Prickle, Confusion 43, 3184 YOLD

(for you Discordians out there)

World History this day

1497 – Vasco da Gama headed off for India, the first direct sea voyage thereto from Europe 1709 – Russia's Peter I beat Charles XII at Poltava, knocking Sweden out of the big leagues 1716 – Norway turned back the Swedish invasion at the Battle of Dynekilen 1960 – Francis Gary Powers was charged with espionage for engaging in espionage 1994 – Kim Jong-il took over for his dad

US History this day

1776 – The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. 1898 – Enterpreneur Soapy Smith was killed in a shootout in Juneau 1947 – Reports of a UFO crash in Roswell, New Mexico were broadcast 1948 – The USAF accepted its first female recruits into the WAF 1970 – Tricky Dick gave a congressional speech claiming that Native American self-determination was US policy

Science & Technology this day

2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched on the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle

The Arts this day

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Misc. this day

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Birthdays of Note this day

1621 - Jean de La Fontaine, author and poet 1831 - John Pemberton, the pharmacist who invented Coca-Cola * 1857 - Alfred Binet, psychologist and graphologist, invented the first practical IQ test ** 1882 - Percy Grainger, pianist and composer 1890 - Stanton Macdonald-Wright, painter 1894 - Pyotr Kapitsa, physicist 1895 - Igor Tamm, physicist 1900 - George Antheil, pianist, composer, and inventor*** 1904 - Henri Cartan, mathematician 1908 - Louis Jordan, singer, songwriter, saxophonist, and actor 1914 - Billy Eckstine, American singer and trumpet player 1924 - Johnnie Johnson, pianist and songwriter 1930 - Jerry Vale, singer 1935 - Steve Lawrence, actor and singer, lesser half of Steve and Eydie 1940 - Joe B. Mauldin, bass player, songwriter and cricket 1944 - Jaimoe, drummer 1948 - Ruby Sales, civil-rights activist 1952 - Larry Garner, singer, songwriter and guitarist 1961 - Andrew Fletcher, keyboardist 1962 - Joan Osborne, singer, songwriter and guitarist 1965 - Dan Levinson, clarinet player, saxophonist, and bandleader 1970 - Beck, singer, songwriter and producer one of several hyndred "next Dylan"s

* Clear proof that the profession is selflessly dedicated tohelping folks get and stay healthy ** A graphologist? Zo, a woo-meister devised the IQ test. 'Splains a lot. *** teamed up with Hedy Lamarr on frequency hopping guidance systems for WWII torpedoes

Deaths of Note this day

1695 - Christiaan Huygens, mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and inventor 1822 - Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet and playwright 1939 - Havelock Ellis, psychologist and author 1943 - Jean Moulin, real resistance member 1994 - Kim Il-sung, ruler 2015 - Ken Stabler, the snake

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So now some music

Decatur

Francis Gary Powers  

Roswell  

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John Pemberton  

Louis Jordan  

Billy Eckstine  

Johnnie Johnson  

Jerry Vale  

Joe B. Mauldin  

Jaimoe

Beck  

Kenny Stabler  

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Photo:   Sydney Grammar School's eight-oar-crew, Putney, Sydney, ca. 1932 / photographer Sam Hood

It's an open thread, so do your thing

I might not be here when this posts, so play nicely if I'm absent

Crossposted from http://caucus99percent.com